


月影 Tsukikage

by Katie (cranberrylatte)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: 4th February, AU, Day 1 of yoimythologyweek, Japanese Mythology AU, M/M, Moonchild - Freeform, Mythology - Freeform, Toshiya and Hiroko are young parents, Yuuri with two 'u's, moon myth au, the tale of princess kaguya, viktor with a 'k', yuuri and viktor are siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-12 08:03:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13543170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cranberrylatte/pseuds/Katie
Summary: Tsukikage; Moonchild: A person affected by or born under the influence of the moon.Dreams in a cradle,With the yellow moon shining downSleep, sleep,Sleep, child!





	月影 Tsukikage

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 of YOI Mythology Week! I decided to use The Tale of Princess Kaguya as the base of the story. There is a movie about the tale but it is much more complicated than the original fairy tale so I used the traditional one instead. [Here](https://folkrealmstudies.weebly.com/japanese-folktales-the-bamboo-cutter-and-the-moon-child.html) is the basic summary of the story.

月は恥を閉じた

Tsuki wa haji o tojita;

the charms of a uniquely beautiful lady (lit: (so beautiful that) the Moon is abashed and flowers wilt)

* * *

 

Katsuki Toshiya drops his axe in disbelief.

The child is beautiful.

There she sits on the bamboo stump, with such elegance that the Japanese Emperor would hide his face in shame. Eyes closed. Head drooped. Silvery white ribbon-like strands framing her face.

 _Oh_ , Toshiya figures as he walks closer, _it is a boy._ He scoops up the infant, carefully adjusting the boy's pastel blue, floral yukata (1) so he would get the most warmth from the thin piece of material.

The child is beautiful.

And so, so, _tiny._

* * *

 

Miraculously, the infant, merely the size of a thumb, remains sound asleep while they make their way back to Toshiya's onsen. Despite not earning much by running an inn, the man prides over it since it is the remaining one standing in the quiet town of Hatsetsu. He doesn't mind that he has to go bamboo cutting every morning to keep the onsen running, even less so as he smiles at the child in his arms.

His wife flies at him with open arms the moment he steps into the inn. The chuckles coming from customers are ignored, because Shimizu (2), no, Katsuki Hiroko is hugging him and smothering him with kisses. And then she _notices._

" _Aa wa ga kamisama!_ " (3) 20-year-old Hiroko tucks the little bundle and coos the sweetest nothings at the anonymous infant. With more energy than the child next door, she bounces up the stairs. The infant sneezes along the way, and Hiroko immediately scrambles to get a fuzzy blanket when they finally get into their warm warm room.

"Oh he's precious!" she squeals quietly as she could so she wouldn't wake the baby boy, who is being scooped even closer to Hiroko's chest. "The poor darling! Being abandoned by such heartless people! Where did you find him Toshiya? Is he hurt?" The motherly expression she has as she tucks the wee baby into their double bed melts Toshiya's heart into puddles. He kisses the top of his wife's head and begins the story he's been through this morning, of April winds and flourishing bamboos and of course, the child with moonlike hair.

"We're keeping him, yes?" Hiroko's hands wrap tighter around the boy after Toshiya finishes his tale, as if he would be heartless enough to take the infant away from his mother.

...Mother?

Is the baby now their son?

He has always wanted a child at a young age, and now, bless Amaterasu, here a gorgeous boy lies in his wife's arms. Grinning giddily, he tells Hiroko, "I'll see if anyone around the neighbourhood is related to him. If we can't find his relatives within two weeks, we'll---"

"We'll...?" Hiroko brightens.

"We'll raise him as our son."

Toshiya isn't ready for the big embrace she attacks him with, but he's not complaining.

* * *

 

 

Wailing. 

"Oh for Amaterasu's (4) sake." Toshiya groggily shakes his wife awake, puts on his slippers, and starts walking towards the cot. Hiroko follows soon after, bathrobe draped carelessly around her torso. The thumb-sized baby has grown into the size of a normal one-year-old (the couple knows this because some of the child's teeth had already grown out, and of course they went to a clinic to keep track of the boy's health state too.) in a week, although still tinier than his peers. It's magical and the young parents are as puzzled as they were delighted when they found out their new son is developing well and healthily. But as he grows, the volume of cries for milk and lullabies grow louder as well. This is the third time of the night that the baby has woken up the two adults.

"Go back to sleep darling, poor lil' Viktor's just frightened."

Toshiya's too tired to complain about Hiroko calling their son Viktor again as he stumbles back to bed.

Both of them had decided to name their little boy Tsuki at first, thinking it the perfect name for a child with moonlit silver hair. But then, during their tours around the neighbourhood when they bring along their son, the villagers point out that it's rare for children from Japan to have platinum hair, let alone silver. They inform the onsen owners that the infant's biological parents would most likely come from Europe, which in turn leads to the couples' different opinion for the child's name. Hiroko, being the dutiful mother she is, scrolled through books some days ago and told her husband about her discovery.

"Mmmm, I'd still rather name him after the moon darling."

_"Toshiya!"_

In the end, they let the child decide which name he favours most. The townspeople would laugh for weeks on end if they witness how the Katsuki couple came to name their son. Toshiya had crouched down in front of the boy and said, "Daddy will call you Tsuki from now on ok?" In which the boy responded with continuing to suck his thumb, clutching his new teddy bear of the day even closer to himself. (There are already at least 10 teddies around the place after Hiroko realises that her son seems to have a liking for soft and fuzzy toys.) Hiroko had then stepped up, eyes filled with confidence, "How about Viktor?" Her Japanese accent when her tongue curls around the word was adorable, but Toshiya had been too startled to notice since Viktor (confirmed) had reached out to clutch his mother's yukata, blue eyes shining with delight.

So the child became Katsuki Viktor.

Speaking of the neighbourhood, the couple had almost visited half of the houses in their town, and none of them seems to know the child at all. On days they brought Viktor along, the villagers would coo at the lovely infant affectionately, telling them how fortunate they are to have a child this lovely and quiet (Ha, if only they knew) On days Toshiya left Viktor in the care of his dear friend Nishigori, people they had visited simply laughed at their description.

"A boy that has silvery long hair at the age of one and grows magically? Don't be absurd!"

Never mind that, the two weeks are already halfway through, and Toshiya is just glad to keep the child. In the eyes of others, Viktor is a peculiar one-year-old who has waist-length hair, but to Toshiya, Hiroko, their friends and their frequent customers, he's a precious boy with eyes that hold the most beauty and innocence than anyone would know. Once, he climbed from Hiroko's lap to his father's just to marvel at the chessboard laid in front of him, gasping every time when his father checkmated the customer.

Oh, and how can Toshiya forget, he witnessed Viktor's first steps and first words.

Hiroko had suddenly squealed from the playing corner reserved for Viktor in the inn when Toshiya had come back from bamboo cutting. She had abandoned her tea tray, the teacups fortunately intact, and run towards her son.

"Toshiya, come quick!"

That was how Katsuki Toshiya, the luckiest man ever along with other blessed customers, watched Viktor crawl, then lift his arms, then push himself up with his tiny legs, stumble, get back up again, and reach out...to take his first step on Earth He beamed up at his mother, who had smiled at him while supporting him from behind and babbled, "Mamaaaa!"

Joy threatened to overwhelm him as Toshiya dropped to his knees to give Viktor a large bear hug. Hiroko joined in under the customers' applause, small tears streaming down her face. He had forgotten to tell his wife the tale of a golden nugget dropping off the first bamboo he cut that fine morning altogether.

One week, and two young adults already love him with all their souls. One week, and he had already captured so many hearts in Hatsetsu.

 _Viktor_ \---conqueror, leader. Hiroko had chosen well. Toshiya can bet all his money, that the steps Katsuki Vitor had taken would lead to more, he would travel around the world, love and life in his wake. He would be great, intelligent, _one of a kind._

_A canary sings_

_A cradle song_

_Sleep, sleep,_

_Sleep, child!_

Hiroko's lullaby soon lulls the two boys in the room to slumber.

Soon, Toshiya's bet would be right. Soon, he would find out deep in the sapphire eyes of his son, lies a creature, a conqueror, grander than he can ever imagine.

* * *

Viktor is four years old and playing in his family's backyard. Dada has been earning more money by cutting bamboo recently and Mama draws Viktor into a big bear hug every time Dada comes back from the forest. She tells Viktor that he is a blessing to the family. Viktor doesn't know what blessing means yet, but he certainly doesn't mind Mama's snug hugs. With the golden nuggets Dada earns, he built a garden for Viktor to play in, which, to Viktor's delight, have all sorts of flowers. Every time he touches them, even the wilted ones flourish.

He giggles when a bluebird lands among the blue roses. Reaching out, Viktor's flower crown slips from his head.

"Viktor! Dinner's ready!" 

"Mama!" Viktor pouts, "You startled the little birdie away！“

”'M sorry darling, but you've got to eat, dancing classes are tomorrow and we need you to have lots and lots of energy," his mama comes out of the door, and Viktor practically leaps at her, yukata flying. "Viktor! How many times do I have to tell you? You have to wear a kimono or you'll catch a cold!" 

It's March and the Hatsetsu winds aren't exactly merciful. Viktor is still smaller than his peers---even two-year-old Takeshi Nishigori is slightly taller than he is. Naturally, Hiroko thinks her son is more fragile than the others so she covers him in layers of clothing every day. Though Viktor loves his mother, he finds the notion of wearing so many clothes annoying---it is his lithe body that makes him dance so well despite only being four years old, why would they cage him away with bulky clothes?

Still, he obliges nonetheless when Hiroko leads him back to the inn and drapes a haori over him. As he settles down in their washitsu (5) in the onsen (apparently, Dada can afford as much as three of these large rooms with the money), he timidly reaches out and places a flower crown on his father's lap. 

"Wow, Viktor! These are lilies!" Viktor nods happily at Toshiya's approval. He is glad that Dada still accepts them although he has already made at least 5 of them for him.

"Itadakimasu!"(6) Viktor digs in the katsudon laid in front of him.

Mama's katsudon is Viktor's all-time favourite thing, aside from that floral yukata Toshiya found him in four years ago. About 15 minutes of blissful eating later, Mama puts down her chopsticks. She then smiles and gestures for Viktor to come to her. 

Tugging Viktor's tiny hand, she lays it on her stomach. "Tell me darling, do you feel anything here?" 

Viktor gasps, there's a bulge on Mama's stomach! "Mama mama! Are you sick?" Viktor is whining now, scrambling for his mother's embrace. 

Hiroko laughs. Viktor breathes a sigh of relief and softens in his mama's lap. Whenever his mother laughs, it is always a good sign.

Toshiya appears out of nowhere to hug his family. "Viktor, Mama is not sick, quite the opposite, in fact," he chortles, "In Mama's tummy lies your baby brother or baby sister---"

"I'm going to be a big brother?" Viktor bounces up, he can't believe the news! "Oh yes, Dada yes!" He buries his face in Hiroko's belly. "What are we gonna name it?"

"We're not sure if it's a brother or a sister yet Viktor..."

"I don't care I don't care!" His eyes catch the flower crown on his Dada's lap, "I'm gonna call it Yuuri! Even if it's a boy!"

 _Yuuri_ \---it means lilies, courage, bravery. Viktor's younger sibling will be as pretty as those flowers.

"Yuuri!" Viktor squeals. 

He kisses his mother's belly.

**Author's Note:**

> Definitions:  
> (1) Yukata; a traditional clothing the Japanese only wear in summer. If you scroll down, it will explain why Hiroko is worried that Viktor will catch a cold if he only wears a yukata.  
> (2) Shimizu; I used this as Hiroko's original surname before she marries. It means "pure water".  
> (3) Aa wa ga kamisama; "oh my god" in a pleasant way  
> (4) Amaterasu; A deity of the Japanese myth cycle and also a major deity of the Shinto religion. It means "shining in heaven"  
> (5) Washitsu; A type of [room](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washitsu) for the Japanese  
> (6) Itadakimasu; A polite phrase meaning "I receive this food."
> 
> Next chapter! Yuuri becomes part of the family!
> 
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> [Moi Tumblr!](http://siriuslupinn.tumblr.com/)


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